Hades
"Welcome, Spartan. Come in. Make yourself at home. This time, you won't be leaving."'' - '''Hades Greek Mythology Hades was one of six children of Cronos and Rhea, he was married to Persephone, whom he kidnapped. He and his siblings were rescued by Zeus from the Wrath of Cronos. Then, when the Titanomachy came, Zeus, Hades and Poseidon, the principal gods that battled, fought for humanity and, along with the other Olympians, emerged victorious. After the battle, it proved necessary to organize the Cosmos. Thus, after the war, the three brothers drew lots. Poseidon got the waters and the Oceans, Zeus the heavens and the rule of the gods, and Hades became the God of the Underworld, its deepest part being Tartarus, a place of suffering and pain and the battle ground of the Great War. The Underworld is also referred to as Hades. Unlike most gods, Hades rarely interfered with mortals, unless they tried to cheat death, and was rather passive and unselfish. This is ironic as he's often portrayed as evil in modern connotations. His Roman equivalent is Pluto. Hades refers both to the ancient Greek underworld, the abode of Hades, and to the god of the underworld. Hades in Homer referred just to the God; the genitive, Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "house/dominion of Hades". Eventually, the nominative, too, came to designate the abode of the dead. In Greek mythology, Hades is the oldest male child of Cronos and Rhea. According to myth, Zeus and Poseidon defeated the Titans, claimed rulership over the universe, including the underworld, air, and sea, respectively; the solid earth, long the province of Gaia, was available to all three concurrently. Because of his association with the underworld, Hades is often interpreted by moderns as the Grim Reaper, even though he was not. The Romans referred to Hades as Pluto, from his Greek epithet, meaning "Rich One". In Roman mythology, Pluto was called Dis Pater and Orcus. The corresponding Etruscan God was Aita. Symbols associated with him are the Helm of Darkness and the three-headed dog, Cerberus. In Christian theology, the term hades refers to the abode of the dead. This is parallel to the Hebrew Sheol (שאול, grave or dirt-pit) and the English Hell (Old English, hel), which was derived from Norse mythology for the land of the dead. ''God of War ''series God of War: Chains of Olympus In God of War: Chains of Olympus, one of the final challenges is called The Challenge of Hades. Hades himself does not appear, although Kratos does enter his realm of dead, the Underworld. Hades does however play a background role as husband to Persephone, the main antagonist of the game. Persephone doesn't love him, but is forced to remain in his dark realm. Because of this, she had chosen to end both her life, and that of the gods, by freeing Atlas and commanding him to destroy the Pillar of the World.hi:] God of War In God of War, he manifests in Pandora's Temple in a translucent form, like the other gods, and gives Kratos a magic called the Army of Hades. Only his fiery, demonic face is seen. There is also a giant statue of him in the section of the Temple called The Challenge of Hades. God of War: Betrayal While Hades doesn't appear in God of War: Betrayal, he is, again, a background character. When Kratos starts chasing the mysterious Assassin, the Undead Legionnaires and Cerberus appear from Underworld to stop him. Kratos wondered why Hades sent these beasts to attack him, speculating that Hades is the one who is plotting to ruin Kratos' relationship with the other gods. God of War II Hades appears in cut scenes in God of War II, depicting the Great War, when the Gods defeated Titans. He is seen fighting and imprisoning Atlas alongside his brother, Poseidon. There is a statue of him in the Garden of the Gods along with Athena, Ares, Zeus, Helios, and Poseidon. At the end of the game he is seen with Poseidon, Helios and Hermes standing in front of Zeus, before the second Great War begins. Also when he's fighting Cronos, Atlas comes and uses a ground attack on Hades. Then Hades manages to take Atlas's soul within him. God of War III ''"I knew you would come back Spartan, did you miss me?" - Hades Hades is first seen amongst the congregation of Gods on Mt. Olympus, dropping down to join Hermes and Helios in battle against the Titans scaling the mountain. He is briefly seen dislodging Oceanus from the mountain after Kratos disabled one of the Leviathans attacking Gaia. Kratos encounters Hades personally in the Underworld, who seeks to prevent him from escaping again. After first entering, Hades periodically comments Kratos' actions, often sarcastic, humorous, or taunting. As soon as Kratos enters his Palace, Hades takes a more hostile stand, claiming he senses "some bad blood" between them. Before the battle, Hades reminds Kratos how he has wronged him in the past, by killing Poseidon, Athena, and especially Persephone. Hades then threatens to make Kratos "suffer as he has suffered". Emerging from complete darkness, Hades immediately attempts to steal Kratos' soul, but fails. An intense battle ensues, after which Kratos bashes Hades' head into the ceiling, knocking him into the River Styx, finally taking his Claws from him. Hades bursts out of the river, no longer sporting his helmet, revealing a deformed, devilish, cracked skull. Kratos finally manages to kill Hades by ripping out his soul, using his own Claws, and further cracking open his deformed skull, revealing his brain. As Hades' rule of the Underworld lifts, the tormented souls of the Styx swarm over Hades, dragging him into the depths of the river. Kratos, in possession of Hades' soul, is now free to traverse the River Styx unharmed. After diving into the river, the godly possession, Hades' helmet, can be retrieved at the bottom, near the point of entry. It then becomes available during Bonus Play. Before leaving, Hades' corpse can be seen at the bottom of the Styx, mutilated, as the tormented souls tore a passage through his gut to escape the river. Swimming through Hades' torso, Kratos follows them. thumb|left|300px|Kratos and Hades engage in battle Powers and Abilities Like all gods, Hades was immortal and invincible to certain forms of attack. Hades could also shapeshift, which he demonstrated during his battle with Kratos, as he increased his size throughout the battle. Hades is bigger when you fight him, because when he was standing between the other gods, he had the same size as that from Zeus. Some of Hades’ powers came from soul absorption and the fact that he ruled over the dead souls of mortal beings. While Kratos traversed the dangers of Pandora’s Temple, Hades gifted him with the souls of the Underworld to aid him in his journey. These souls literally mauled Kratos’ enemies to death, or weakened them enough for him to finish them off. Hades also carried spiked chains showing the power of conjuring which could be used to tear the souls from any living being, including a Titan. This was seen in a cut scene during Atlas’ flashback story of the Great War, the Titanomachy, between the Olympians Gods and the Titans Gods. Hades was able to grapple onto the mighty Titan Atlas and absorb his soul. Before this occurred, however, Hades was in the process of capturing Cronos’ soul before Atlas intervened by hurling pieces of mountain at him and doing the Atlas Quake. By absorbing souls, they allow Hades to become stronger, something he even references whilst battling Kratos, as he taunts him by stating his soul will only make him stronger. It is unclear whether or not Hades did in fact collect the souls of any other Titan, including Cronos. It should also be noted that the spikes on his body may have also been used to an advantage in battle. Personality "Kratos, so glad that we can have some time for us. You know we needed it. Oh the memories, they're overwhelming really. Let's see. How many sins have you committed against me? Oh, that's right, you murdered my niece, Athena. And what else? ''What else?! Ah, and you killed my brother, Poseidon. And I have not forgotten that it was you who butchered my beautiful queen! I will see you suffer as I have suffered. Your soul is MINE!!!"''-Hades (to Kratos) Unlike his brother Zeus and many of the other Gods of the series, Hades is mostly unconcerned with the affairs of the mortal realm, preferring to focus his energies on the Underworld. He is, however, quick to anger if someone crosses him or his family, which makes him an enemy of Kratos. As Kratos is traveling through his palace, Hades comments that there is bad blood between them, as Kratos had murdered his niece (Athena) and his brother (Poseidon), which can not go unpunished. He also appeared to have deeply cared for Persephone, despite her words and treachery. Indeed, he has restored her remains and created a massive memorial to her, which Kratos must navigate in order to continue his journey. He doesn't, however, comment on the loss of his nephew Ares, indicating that Hades, much like the other gods, did not care much for Ares (or possibly because the gods tasked Kratos with killing Ares in the first place). Hades has a sinister, mock-playful humor, evident in the way he taunts and intimidates Kratos throughout the Underworld. This is similar to the mythological Hades, who often gave out ironic punishments to particularly unfortunate souls. He also appears to be a masochist, as even when Kratos beats him senseless, he claims to enjoy the pain. Trivia *Actor Clancy Brown voices Hades in God of War III. Amongst other things he is noted the rumbling, gravelly voice that he's previously lent to Highlander character The Kurgan, and videogame villains such as Crash Bandicoot's Uka Uka and Baron Praxis from the Jak and Daxter series. Hades is the latest in this tradition, although he is antagonistic rather than truly 'villainous'. *The most likely reason Hades, as well as Poseidon and a few other gods, changed appearance drastically from God of War 1 to God of War 2 is that the game developers had not expected the series to be such a success, and may have originally planned to end with the first game. When fleshing out the entire storyline, they most likely wanted to give each god a look and personality unique to the God of War series, compared to the rather uninspired designs in God of War 1. *A common misconception occurs when people compare Hades to deities of other religions, most often Satan of the Abrahamic religions. In Greek mythology, Hades was not inherently evil, but merely acquired ownership of everything under the earth, including the underworld and precious metals, from drawing lots with his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon. Over time, however, living in the underworld made a recluse out of him, and ancient stories tell that he was actually not in the Greek pantheon of 12 gods, spending most of his time tending to the dead. He was also portrayed as very strict-especially when it came to letting the living in or the dead out of his kingdom. *When you are standing in the light in Hades' Palace before the fight, he says Kratos slew Poseidon, Athena, and Persephone, but he didn't mention Ares. In fact, Hades actually aided Kratos in his quest for revenge on Ares by granting him the power of the Army of Hades. This may be because Ares was ruthless, full of bloodlust, and was using Hades' minions for his own gain. Also, the gods had actually instructed Kratos to destroy Ares, while the many other gods Kratos slew were on his own volition. *It is possible that Hades' reasons for hating Kratos also include the death of Ceryx, the "release" of Peirithous, the destruction of countless minions, and Kratos' repeated escapes from the Underworld, along with associating with the Titans in the first place. If Hades was allowed to describe ALL of the ways Kratos has angered him, of course, his pre-battle speech would be incredibly long, so the developers included what they probably thought were the three crimes most important to Hades' grudge. *Hades may not be dead, as his body was destroyed, but his soul is still inside the Claws of Hades. *The Evil from Pandora's box that infected Hades was most likely Hate; evidenced by his desire to get revenge on Kratos for killing his family members. *The same statue of Hades, in his demonic visage in GOW I, appears in GOW III. When you acquire the Blades of Exile there are some hooks nearby. Walk by them and you will see four red chests and lost souls. At the bottom of this area, there is the statue of Hades as he appears in God Of War I (below the area where you acquire the Rage of Sparta). *It is interesting to note that, in the Chains of Olympus game set before the games, Kratos slays Hades' wife Persephone. However in God of War 1, Hades helps out Kratos. But in God of War 3, Hades despises Kratos for his part in his wifes death. It is possible, however, that Hades made a temporary truce with Kratos, and lent his powers to him, solely on the fact that Kratos was using them to battle against Ares and the minions he was controlling. Also, Hades might have been feeling the pain of losing not only his wife, but his brother and niece as well, when he battles against Kratos in God of War III.It might also be because Hatred augmented those feelings after Pandora's Box was opened. *In God of War II, Hades has a pale skin but in God of War III, he has blood colored skin. *Hades could have already known that Kratos is his nephew. *Many confuse Hades with Thanatos, when Hades is the God of the Underworld, the Dead and Riches, while Thanatos is the God of Death, basically death himself to the Greeks. Gifts and Objects *Army of Hades - Given to Kratos after defeating Pandora's Guardian. *Shield of Hades - Used in Pandora's Temple, with the Shield of Zeus, to progress further into the temple. *Claws of Hades - After Kratos bashes Hades' head through the ceiling, he takes away his claws, using them to extract his sould and exacting his revenge. *Hades' Helm - Swimming down the river of Styx to the very bottom at point of entry, and retrieving the Helm, will grant use of this Godly Possession in Bonus Play. Related Pages *Gods *Underworld *Persephone *Claws of Hades *Army of Hades *Statue of Hades *The Three Judges *Hades' Helm Gallery File:Untitled_121.png|Hades in God of War 1 File:192738-300px_hades_god_of_war_large.jpg|Hades concept art File:Hades_God_of_War.jpg|Hades in God of War 3 File:Untitled_122.png|Hades in the first war File:Untitled_125.png|Hades takes the soul of titan Atlas File:Hades-Steals-Kratos-Soul.jpg|Hades attempting to steal Kratos' soul File:Hades_Takedown.jpg|Kratos fights Hades File:HADES.png|Hades File:Godofwar_04_jpg.jpg|Kratos vs Hades File:Ss_preview_10_jpg.jpg|Kratos vs Hades File:Ss_preview_11_jpg.jpg|Hades spinning his hooks File:Ss_preview_3_jpg.jpg|A purple flame around Hades File:Hades.png|Kratos bashing Hades' head to the ceiling File:Untitled_313.png|The true appearance of Hades File:Untitled_413.png|Hades fights with Kratos File:Untitled_HADES.png|Hades File:Untitled_HADES_1.png|Kratos draining Hades' soul File:Untitled_HADES_2.png|Aftermath of his death XCMj8.jpg|Hades, emerging from darkness to confront Kratos KlLML.jpg|Hades' up close, menacing and threatening appearance Category:Characters Category:Deceased characters Category:Immortals Category:Gods Category:Bosses Category:God of War: Chains of Olympus Category:God of War Category:God of War II Category:God of War III